Academic Quarrel As Emily Dickinson Archive Launches

Harvard University and Amherst College had a tiff this month, just as the schools rolled out a new website. It’s an archive of writings from Amherst, Massachusetts, native Emily Dickinson.

Both schools contributed material to the archive, but they’re bickering over what should be shared and who gets credit. It’s a familiar kind of fight when it comes to Dickinson’s writings, according to New York Times reporter Jennifer Schuessler, who’s covered the ruckus. Schuessler talked of the complicated history of Dickinson’s mysterious manuscripts.